The specter of famine is looming over Gaza, and the promise of immediate, unrestricted aid in President Donald Trump’s peace plan is a powerful tool of coercion. The “famine factor” may be the single most potent element in forcing Hamas to accept terms it would otherwise find ideologically impossible.
For over two years, the population of Gaza has been subjected to extreme deprivation, with reports of widespread starvation. The conflict, which has killed over 66,000, has also destroyed the means of food production and distribution. The situation is a humanitarian catastrophe of the highest order.
The US proposal weaponizes this crisis by making its resolution conditional on Hamas’s surrender. The deal promises that upon acceptance, “full aid will be immediately sent into Gaza.” This is not a vague pledge; it is a direct offer to turn the tide against famine and save countless civilian lives.
This places Hamas in an agonizing position. To reject the deal is to be seen as directly responsible for the continued starvation of the people it claims to govern. The leadership must now ask if its political survival is worth the price of mass hunger.
By transforming a humanitarian pledge into a strategic lever, the Trump administration has linked the political goal of disarming Hamas to the visceral, undeniable need for food. Whether this famine factor is enough to force the group’s hand remains the crucial question of the hour.